Conventional moving-coil microphones generally contain a fixed permanent magnet with a suspended coil (the moving coil). A diaphragm is affixed to the coil when there is no internal tension and no external force. When a sound from the environment reaches the microphone, the sound pressure causes the diaphragm (and the affixed coil) to vibrate. The motion of the coil in the magnetic field generates motional electromotive force (EMF). A voltage is then output according to the sound pressure, completing the acoustic-electric conversion. Conventional moving-coil microphones, however, are difficult to be miniaturized because of the complexity of their internal components.
Conventional condenser microphones may be capable of being miniaturized. But the capacitance of conventional condenser microphones is typically in the range of picofarads (pF or 10−12 F), giving rise to high impedance of condenser microphones. The high impedance causes severe attenuation during transport, rendering long-distance transmission impossible. To address this problem, an impedance converter is normally needed. A field-effect transistor (e.g., a junction gate field-effect transistor or J-FET) typically serves as an impedance converter. Although a J-FET can be made very small, its thermo characteristics and susceptibility to electromagnetic interferences may diminish the quality of condenser microphones.